Thankfull to be a part of Housing Works Design on a Dime benefit for 2017. This wonderful event pulls together 60+ top designers to create full room vignettes celebrating design and New York, while raising funds to end HIV/AIDS and homelessness.

The other day I made some porcelain mugs for an up and coming local cafe. They needed the pieces by the end of the week for a photo shoot. So, I needed to get them dry fast, and even, and did I mention they were porcelain:/.

I didn't have a hot box / drying cabinet / damp cabinet, but it's winter and the heat is on. So, I rigged up my own little system with a ware board, some 2 inch posts and a cardboard box.

You might want to play around with your system to see how fast and even things dry. ✨I just wung it, crossed my fingers, and it worked out. ✨ As long as you've done the work of aligning the particles in your clay, you should be good. This was my schedule.

I threw them on Saturday.

Sunday, still too wet, so I trimmed on Monday. Tuesday they sat under plastic.

Wednesday morning, in the hot box. Ready to fire by Wednesday afternoon.

It was about 17 degrees in Columbus, and My thermostat was set at 71 degrees. The heat was kicking on about twice an hour for 5-10 minutes.

I put the mugs in a circle to help the handles dry slower, and flipped them over about every hour and a half. The towel was draped over the vent. Not sure if this helped direct the heat into the box, but maybe.

The box was a little smaller than the shelf. The flaps were standing, with the tinker toys can and the jug on the other side supporting them.

I've been doing this a lot now and like putting it together before I go to bed, dry by morning. Try this instead of candeling the kiln. It takes no time or skills, and saves energy and kiln wear while it's cold outside. 🙌.

The Carnegie Gallery is located on the second floor of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (96 S. Grant Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215). The gallery is accessed via stairs in the main entry foyer.

Rooster Totem

stoneware, bronze Glaze

2016

Inspired by my grandmothers who always seemed to have a rooster or two in their kitchens. I was told they brought luck, but recently discovered that the rooster is a complex fellow, rich in meaning. In addition to success and good fortune, the symbol represents;

Eccentricity

Uniqueness

Ego

Lack of Fear

Curiosity

Sexuality

New Beginnings

Sun Engergy

This link has a fascinatingly thorough compilation of information on the rooster and its many attributes. It's like Totem heaven.

Excited to be included in the Greater Columbus Arts Council's CAP awards & exhibition. The exhibition will include twenty works from ten local artists and takes place September 2-15 at RAW Gallery in Columbus, Ohio.

The two pieces I chose to submit are dealing with the weight felt in the world today, and the yearning for escape.

Sea of Oblivion 2016

Infinite Gravity 2016

A little something GCAC wrote About the Community Arts Partnership awards:

The Art Council’s Community Arts Partnership Award program, now in its 33rd year, recognizes the community’s crucial contributions to the arts including financial support, non-cash contributions, volunteer involvement and board participation. Strong partnerships between businesses, community members and the arts stimulate economic growth, promote the city’s revitalization, encourage tourism and enhance Columbus’ cultural image and give life to the city.

Each year, as part of the program, the Arts Council purchases the work of three local artists to present to the three business honorees. Ten local artists are selected to show two works each at the CAP Art Selection show in August. Three works are chosen through a jury process by the Arts Council’s former and current board of trustees to present at the awards program in October.

The annual Labor Day Arts Festival is a one-day blind-juried arts festival that is now entering its 50th year and will be held on Monday, September 5, 2016. Presented by First Federal Bank and hosted by the City of Upper Arlington, the Festival draws over 25,000 people each year and is considered the City’s signature event. Located in the beautiful neighborhood setting of Northam Park, the Festival showcases the works of local, regional, and national artists working in a variety of media. A variety of activities add to the Festival’s success as a family-oriented event: an Entertainment Stage with local performers playing all day, an Art Activities Area with performances and arts/crafts activities for children and adults and a variety of refreshment booths. Nearly 200 volunteers make this community event possible.

Super excited to have a piece purchased by FOX Studios Australia. I was told it'll be in Ridley Scott's new film 'Alien Covenant'. The release is scheduled for 2017. That's about all I know. Can't wait to see what they do with it!

Last week I was contacted by NYC designer Laura Bohn. She asked if I would be interested in donating some pieces to the HOUSING WORKS NYC- DESIGN on a DIME BENEFIT.

After checking out the website it took me about two seconds to decide. I'm in.

Housing Works is a non profit based in NYC focusing their positive energy on the fight against HIV/AIDS and homelessness.

The benefit will fund a new housing development, transforming a 6,000 sq ft. empty lot into a home for 26 single, formerly homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS. Through sustainable design and construction, the Hull Street residence will provide a safe and beautiful place to live.

More information on the event, and Housing Works NYC can be found here.

https://www.housingworks.org/events/design-on-a-dime/

Feeling honored and humbled to have an opportunity to contribute. Here's a preview of the pieces I'll be packing up. Check them out in person at Laura Bohn Design's Vignette.

This is my kick wheel. It's an old Randall I bought off EBay in 2013. It originally came from Marietta College, says the label on the seat post.

From the beginning it's had a little shimmy that I barely notice, but drives my husband insane. Every so often he looks it over and tries to determine the cause. This time he flipped it over and found what he believes to be the culprit.

Weights added to the bottom of my Randall kick wheel.

I'm guessing they were added to make the wheel spin longer. However, adding them all in one spot is causing the wheel to spin unevenly and shimmy a smidge. It's not really noticeable on small pieces, but can be a little challenging when throwing large.

So, we decided to try and remove them.

The dremel didn't do much, so we moved up to the angle grinder with a cutting disk. It was still taking forever. These welds were meant to never be broken! So, we decided to take a break.

As we sat drinking our coffee, with the wheel on its side, we noticed that the weights had spun to the top. We stared, baffled. Shouldn't they be at the bottom? No matter how we turned the wheel they always made their way back to the top. So, we decided to stop the removal and are now thinking of adding more weight to see if we can get it balanced.

Anyone else have a kick wheel with this sort of issue? I couldn't find much info out there on the Internet.

As of today, we didn't have the energy to haul it out to the garage to weld on more weight. And I can't decide if it really needs fixed. So, it continues to drive the husband crazy, but at least he solved the mystery.